Burned-out and grief-stricken after the death of his son, journalist Matthew Pittman is sitting in his bathtub with a loaded revolver pointed at the roof of his mouth when the telephone rings. His suicide interrupted, Matthew is assigned to write an obituary for the dying Jonathan Millgate, an 80-year-old member of a prestigious group that advises U.S. presidents. Soon, however, Millgate is kidnapped from his deathbed and killed, and Pittman is accused of the murder. Fleeing Millgate's true murderers and the police they control, Pittman suddenly gains interest in a life that he was prepared to abandon only days before. Here, best-selling author Morrell is at the top of his craft. The in-depth characterization, believable and unpredictable plot developments, and psychological depths of this thriller will draw all readers. Libraries should put it at the top of their must-buy lists for the fall.
Cheryl (Toni) J. (toni) from HILLSBOROUGH, NC wrote on 10/23/2006...
From the Publisher
This story begins as Matt Pittman, a once famous journalist whose life has fallen apart because of overwhelming personal tragedy, prepares his own suicide. Suddenly, what was to have been the final act of Matt's ruined life is interrupted by a phone call. Matt's editor has an assignment for him: write an obituary of a man who is not dead yet.
Plucked from the edge of oblivion, plunged into the unexpected, Matt finds himself accused of killing the very man whose premature death notice he was to write.
As he races to untangle the most dangerous story of his career, Matt seeks redemption in a deepening love for Jill Warren, who becomes his accomplice in survival. He finds himself thrust into the heart of a conspiracy of aging power brokers whose lethal influence in America and throughout the world remains terrifyingly unsurpassed. And he stumbles across a devastating secret forged in the birth of the Cold War--and decades before that, in the intimate and treacherous rites of passage among the nation's youthful, golden elite.
JODY T. (DooDah) from CLANTON, AL wrote on 8/12/2006...
"Nobody delivers suspense fiction with more sheer emotional power than Morrell." I gave it four stars, and search for more novels by Mr Morrell.
From Library Journal :
Burned-out and grief-stricken after the death of his son, journalist Matthew Pittman is sitting in his bathtub with a loaded revolver pointed at the roof of his mouth when the telephone rings. His suicide interrupted, Matthew is assigned to write an obituary for the dying Jonathan Millgate, an 80-year-old member of a prestigious group that advises U.S. presidents. Soon, however, Millgate is kidnapped from his deathbed and killed, and Pittman is accused of the murder. Fleeing Millgate's true murderers and the police they control, Pittman suddenly gains interest in a life that he was prepared to abandon only days before. Here, best-selling author Morrell is at the top of his craft. The in-depth characterization, believable and unpredictable plot developments, and psychological depths of this thriller will draw all readers. Libraries should put it at the top of their must-buy lists for the fall.
--Alice DiNizo, Raritan P.L., N.J.
Linda F. from LAKE FOREST, CA wrote on 2/15/2006...
a really good read.
Lynn M. (oodella) from CANTWELL, AK wrote on 9/19/2005...
Darkly funny, intrigue, mystery. Well worth the read